Year
C
Proper 15
Sunday
18 August 2013
Eucharistic Preface
Let
us lift up our hearts.
........We
lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our
God.
........It is right to
give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give
you our thanks and praise, O God,
for though our lives were a
wasteland
you cherished us and gave us life again.
With a
love-song, you sang the earth into existence,
and led your people
from slavery through the Red Sea.
You planted them in a fertile
land
and looked for a harvest of justice and righteousness.
When
we returned only bloodshed and torment,
you sent your child,
Jesus,
to be the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
His
preaching kindled a fire
and divided the living from the dead.
He
endured the cross, disregarding its shame
and was baptised in
suffering and death.
You raised him to life and seated him at your
right hand,
and are now strengthening us for the race before
us,
so that with the faithful witnesses of all generations
we
may receive your promises and be made perfect.
Therefore with
.....
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We thank you that though our lives were a
wasteland
you cherished us and gave us life again,
sending
your child, Jesus Christ,
to be the pioneer and perfecter of our
faith.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
General
Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Preface reformatted for use
apart from communion)
We give you thanks
and praise, O God,
for though our lives were a wasteland
you
cherished us and gave us life again.
With a love-song, you
sang the earth into existence,
and led your people from slavery
through the Red Sea.
Your planted them in a fertile land
and
looked for a harvest of justice and righteousness.
When we
returned only bloodshed and torment,
you sent your child, Jesus,
to be the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
His preaching
kindled a fire
and divided the living from the dead.
He endured
the cross, disregarding its shame
and was baptised in suffering
and death.
You raised him to life and seated him at your right
hand,
and are now strengthening us for the race before us,
so
that with the faithful witnesses of all generations
we may receive
your promises and be made perfect.
Therefore, with our hearts
lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Declaration
of Grace / Absolution
Jesus Christ, the pioneer and
perfecter of our faith,
has endured the cross so that our sins
will be forgiven
and we will be made perfect with the faithful of
all ages.
Sisters and Brothers,
........your
sins are forgiven;
................be
at peace.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go now with your eyes on
Jesus,
the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
Lay aside the
ways of sin,
bring forth a harvest of justice and
righteousness,
and run with perseverance
the race that is set
before us.
And may God turn to you and cherish you;
May
Christ Jesus surround you with the light of his presence;
And may
the Holy Spirit give you life and strength.
We go in peace to
love and serve the Lord,
........In
the name of Christ. Amen.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Paraphrases
of the Scripture
Lections
for Proper 15 - Year
C - Sunday 18 August 2013
Lections from The
Revised Common Lectionary.
Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on
Common Texts (CCT)
P. O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN
37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.
* Isaiah 5: 1-7
I’ll sing a story in
song,
........a gift of love for my
vine-growing friend.
My much loved friend began a
vineyard;
........ideally situated on
a sunny, fertile hillside.
He cleared the rocks, cultivated the
soil,
........and planted top-grade
vines.
He built a well equipped winery,
........dug
a cellar and installed a wine-press.
He had every reason to expect
top-quality grapes,
........but the
entire harvest was bitter and useless.
Come now, you who live
in Jerusalem,
........and all you
people of Judah;
who do you think is in the right:
........me
or my vineyard?
Did I fall down on the job
somewhere;
........what more could I
have done for my vineyard?
Was I wrong to expect good quality
grapes?
........Why did I get nothing
but rubbish?
Well, I’m sick of that lousy
vineyard.
........I’ll tell you
what I’ll do to it:
I will rip down the fences
........and
let the animals chew it up;
I will smash the gates
down
........and let the passers-by
stomp all over it.
I will leave it in ruins;
........trashed
and abandoned;
........the weeds and
blackberries will take over.
I will disconnect the water
........and pray that the rains
steer clear.
Are you people getting the message?
The
LORD who rules over everything
........is
the vine-grower,
and you, the people of Israel and
Judah
........are the carefully
tended vineyard.
The LORD expected a harvest
of justice,
........but violence
broke out instead.
Where honesty and integrity should have
flourished,
........there was nothing
but the cries of the victims!
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 80: 1-2, 8-19
God, you are the one who
watches over your people
........like
a lifeguard supervising a dangerous beach,
................watching
from a high seat, like a king enthroned.
Listen to our prayer and
clearly flag the boundaries,
........so
that your tribes will no longer get out of their depth.
Up and
at it, God!
........Come equipped to
rescue us.
Remember how you brought us out of Egypt like a
young grapevine,
........so that you
could plant your own vineyard.
You cleared the land and prepared
the soil;
........you planted our
roots deep and we grew strongly.
We grew wide and high, bigger
than the tallest trees,
........even
shading the mountains.
Your vineyard grew and grew till it filled
the land
........from the western
ocean to the eastern river.
So why have you torn down the
security fence,
........so that
anyone can tramp through and pinch the fruit?
Wild pigs rampage
through doing untold damage;
........feral
goats and rabbits eat whatever’s left.
Come on, God! You
rule over everything. Do something!
........Turn
around and look at what’s going on.
This vine came from root
stock you planted yourself;
........take
charge of its welfare again.
Others have hacked and burned
it
........to within an inch of its
life.
Wipe them out
........with
a single withering stare!
Take our side again, your wayward
favourite child,
........the one you
raised by hand to be your own.
We will never go off the rails
again;
........save us now and your
name will be on our lips forever.
LORD
God, you rule over everything;
........Come
and smile on us again;
................save
us and revive us with your kiss of life.
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Hebrews 11:29 - 12:2
........It
was by exercising faith that the people of Israel were able to walk
through the Red Sea as though it were dry land. The slave-drivers
from whom they had escaped drowned when they tried to do the same
thing.
........It was the exercise of
faith that brought down the fortified walls of Jericho. The people of
Israel encircled the city for seven days, trusting God, and the walls
collapsed. Rahab the prostitute was exercising faith when she
harboured the Israelite spies in her Jericho home. Because of her
faith, her life was saved when those around her who had resisted God
were killed.
........Need I go on?
There is not enough time to tell the stories of all the great heroes
of faith. The stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah; of
David and Samuel and the prophets — all of them well worth
telling. Exercising faith, they did extraordinary things: they
defeated world powers; put justice into practice; and won promises of
loyalty. They closed the jaws of lions; put out raging fires; and
escaped unscathed from savage violence. Although their positions
seemed weak and vulnerable, they were given strength and became
formidable warriors who successfully repelled invading armies. The
things faith has achieved! Faith-filled women saw their dead loved
ones raised back to life. Some faith-filled people even endured
torture — refusing to cave in and go free — sustained by
their confident expectation of the ultimate freedom that comes with
resurrection. We have stories of others who were publicly humiliated
and flogged, or locked up in chains. Others were battered to death
with rocks, or sawn in half, or hacked to pieces. We know of others
who lived as refugees; forced out into harsh isolated environments,
deprived of their basic human rights, and constantly subjected to
persecution and harassment. Dressed in rags, homeless, powerless, and
shunned; they had to survive as best they could on the edges of a
hostile and callous world — a world that did not deserve
them!
........All these heroes
received top marks for their faith, and yet even they did not see the
completion of all God had promised. Why? Because God had even better
ideas! God wanted us to be included in the story too, and so
put everything on hold until we could all be made perfect at
once.
........So, we are by no means
running the race alone! The air around us is thick with encouragement
— all these heroes who bore witness to the truth before us,
cheering us on. So let’s strip down for the run that lies
ahead, tossing aside everything that would hold us back, especially
the sin that clings on so tenaciously. And then let’s get on
with it — run and run and never quit until we’ve crossed
the line. We can do it if we just keep our eyes fixed on Jesus,
because he has led the way and become the first to complete this
faith marathon. He was so focussed on the goal that he was able to
push on through the pain barriers, enduring the agony and humiliation
of the cross. He knew that the celebrations would make it all worth
while, and sure enough, he now enjoys the number one seat of honour
alongside God’s throne.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Luke 12: 49-56
Jesus said:
“Fire! I have come to torch the earth, and if I had my way it would be well and truly ablaze by now! And I am facing a baptism of fire myself — I will be immersed in the conflict and torment of a world going to hell and back. You can’t imagine the stress I’m bearing until it’s over! Do you think I am here to make everything nice and peaceful on earth? Wrong! The fact is, my presence can only result in people taking sides: for and against. From now on you’ll see that even families are torn apart. A household of five will find itself divided:
three against two,
and two against three;
father against son,
and son against father;
mother against daughter,
and daughter against mother;
mother-in-law against daughter-in-law,
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Speaking to the crowds, Jesus also said:
“When you see dark clouds gathering in the western sky, you are quick to forecast rain, and you are spot on. And when you feel the wind blowing in from the desert in the morning, you say, ‘It’ll be stinking hot today,’ and of course, you are right. So don’t play dumb with me! You are perfectly capable of reading the signs to recognise when the weather is about to change, so what’s so difficult about reading the signs to make sense of what’s happening in the world right now?”
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Alternative
Hebrew Bible Lections themed to the Gospel Lection
*
Jeremiah 23: 23-29
“What kind of God do
you think I am:
........a pocket God
who lives where you put me,
................or
a God far beyond your grasp?”
........................says
the LORD.
“Can anyone find a secret
hiding place
........where I won’t
be able to see them?”
................says
the LORD.
“Do I not fill the entire
universe,
........heaven and earth
alike?”
................says
the LORD.
“I know perfectly well
what those so-called prophets are saying. They preach lies —
naming me as their authority — claiming that I gave them
messages in dreams and visions. How long will I have to put up with
it? Will they never wake up to themselves, these snake-oil
evangelists whose preaching is all a con-job motivated by their own
twisted agendas? They trade their best lines and slimiest techniques
with one another as they collude to persuade people to substitute
other things for me, just as their ancestors substituted trendy
fertility gods for me.”
“You prophets with your
dreams,
........go ahead and rabbit
on about them.
But let the prophet who truly has my
word
........be bold and resolute in
announcing my message.
The two are like chalk and
cheese,”
........says the
LORD.
“Don’t you know that my
word is like a raging fire?
........says
the LORD,
................“and
like a sledgehammer that smashes rocks to pieces?”
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 82
Take action, God!
........Pass
sentence on all those who judge and rule the earth.
Call them
to account for their unjust decisions;
........expose
their links to corruption and crime.
Order them to hand down
justice to the deprived and abused,
........and
to protect the rights of those seeking refuge.
Command them to
represent the needy and the vulnerable,
........and
to side with them against those who exploit them.
These judges
and rulers don’t understand or care, God;
........they’ve
got their heads in the sand
................while
the world falls apart around them.
You, God, elevated them to
office,
........and delegated your
authority to them;
but they have betrayed your trust
........and
will die disgraced.
Take action, God!
........Come
and judge the earth!
................Reassert
your control over all your nations!
©2001
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net